New study suggests hair straightening chemicals associated with higher uterine cancer risk

LOS ANGELES - Women who used chemical hair straightening products were at higher risk for uterine cancer compared to women who did not report using these products, according to a newly published study of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The study data included 33,497 U.S. women ages 35 to 74, who were followed for almost 11 years and during that time 378 uterine cancer cases were diagnosed.

The researchers found that women who reported frequent use of hair straightening products, defined as more than four times in the previous year, were more than twice as likely to go on to develop uterine cancer compared to those who did not use the products, according to the study published Monday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Uterine cancer accounts for about 3 percent of all new cancer cases in the United States, but is the most common cancer of the female reproductive system, with 65,950 estimated new cases in 2022, according to the NIH. - XINHUA